Page 38 of Isla

P.S. Patrick is paid through the end of the month.

Come back?No. My fingers tremble as I power on my phone. Eleven missed texts and two missed calls. Henry sent all but two of the messages.

Isla

Isla answer me

You missed 2 calls from Henry

Is this what you want? Theo said he found you sobbing over the pub and that he couldn't stand it anymore. That he was going to do the right thing for once in his life.

He has us on the next flight out, Isla. Please answer me.

I don't want to leave. I don't remember the last time I was this happy.

God, that's selfish of me. I'm happy, but you're not, and that's what matters in the end.

Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Can't wait to come back eventually and see what you've done with the place.

They just told us to put our phones in airplane mode. Our sim cards won't work in the states, so I guess this is goodbye.

See ya later, Red.

I wipe at the tears running down my cheeks, clicking over to the text thread with Dylan.

You have to do something, Isla. He's convinced he's doing the right thing.

Please.

Oh god. I grab my phone and the deed. When I can't find my keys, I lace up my tennis shoes and sprint all the way to the castle. I crash through the front door, calling for Charlie.

"Isla!" Charlie frames my face, her big blue eyes already filling with tears in response to mine. "What's wrong?"

"They left, Charlie." I sob into her neck, gasping for breath. My heart feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces.

"Who left?"

I hold out the paper to her, my hand trembling.

She covers her mouth with her hand. "But I thought they sankeverything they had into the pub."

"They did. The pub was all they had."

"Did you call them?"

I shake my head no. "Their sim cards won't work now that they're back in the States."

"What will you do?" she asks, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I take one steadying breath, then another, my mind racing.

"You should go after them," Charlie says, answering her own question.

"Go after who?" Jack enters the foyer, alarm flashing in his eyes. Charlie hands him the deed. He turns it over, scanning the note on the back. "They left just like that? Without saying anything?"

"Henry and Dylan tried, but I had my phone turned off."

"Why did you have your phone turned off?"